Forum: Step into the new year with a sense of what endures
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
As we step into 2026, dreams, hopes and aspirations abound, as they always do at the threshold of a new year. Yet the global landscape remains uncertain, with geopolitical tensions and economic headwinds persisting.
Whether the months ahead bring clear blue skies or stormy weather is uncertain; what is certain, however, is the passage of time itself. With each passing year, the runway of life grows shorter. For some, there remains a long stretch ahead; for others, the runway has quietly come to an end. This is the sober and poignant reality of human mortality.
Such awareness has long found expression in music and faith. “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through...” goes a song made popular by Jim Reeves. It speaks of this world as a temporary home, capturing a sentiment that resonates across generations. Its enduring appeal lies in its reminder that earthly life, with all its striving and struggle, is transient rather than final.
As another year turns, the shortening runway need not provoke fear, but awareness – awareness that time is precious, life is fragile, and meaning is found not in how long we live, but in how well.
In recognising this, we may yet step into the new year with greater wisdom, quiet hope, and a steadier sense of what truly endures.
Wishing everyone a blessed and hopeful new year.
Henry Koh Chiew Phor
